Answer Details

Here are **five excellent, recently-published science-fiction novels** that have received strong reviews — good suggestions to send your friend. --- ### 1. Annie Bot by Sierra Greer (2024)       **Why it stands out:** * This novel won the Arthur C. Clarke Award in 2025. ([The Guardian][1]) * It tells the story of Annie, a humanoid robot designed as a companion, who begins to confront her own autonomy, identity and the power dynamics between her owner and “her” role. ([BooksThatSlay][2]) * Reviewers call it provocative and emotionally intense. ([Kirkus Reviews][3]) **Good for your friend if they like:** android/AI themes, intimate speculative setups, and questions of autonomy and power. --- ### 2. Alien Clay by Adrian Tchaikovsky (2024)       **Why it stands out:** * It’s set on a planet named Kiln with alien life, a prison-colony type scenario and a human scientist narrator. ([Wikipedia][4]) * Reviews highlight the alien world-building and the way the story weaves political allegory and hard sci-fi. ([Kirkus Reviews][5]) **Good for your friend if they like:** Big concept sci-fi, alien worlds, political intrigue combined with speculative biology. --- ### 3. Service Model by Adrian Tchaikovsky (2025)      **Why it stands out:** * Released in 2025. Described as a “witty tale of robotic murder, rebellion and belonging”. ([Macmillan Publishers][6]) * A robot servant becomes self-aware and navigates a society built on artificial labor and service. ([Book Reporter][7]) **Good for your friend if they like:** Smart social satire disguised as sci-fi, especially with robots and systems of service. --- ### 4. The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley (2024)       **Why it stands out:** * It was highlighted in lists of best recent sci-fi. ([New York Post][8]) * Time-travel premise: a secret organization protecting the fabric of time. **Good for your friend if they like:** Time-travel, mission-based structure, lighter tone but with speculative stakes. --- ### 5. Dissolution by Nicholas Binge (2025)       **Why it stands out:** * Published in 2025, it features a mind-bending plot involving time loops, memory erasure and a couple whose lives are unravelled. ([Wikipedia][9]) * Received strong critical attention (starred review from Library Journal, etc) for its ambitious take on memory/time. ([Wikipedia][9]) **Good for your friend if they like:** High-concept sci-fi that plays with time, identity, memory and narrative structure. --- If you like, I can pull **10 or more** of the *top* recent sci-fi novels (2023-2025) with a variety of styles (space opera, climate sci-fi, cyberpunk) and include reader ratings & links. Would that be helpful? [1]: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2025/jun/25/arthur-c-clarke-science-fiction-award-annie-bot-sierra-greer?utm_source=chatgpt.com "'Intense' novel about robot abused by her boyfriend/owner wins Arthur C Clarke science fiction award" [2]: https://booksthatslay.com/annie-bot-summary-characters-and-themes/?utm_source=chatgpt.com "Annie Bot Summary, Characters and Themes - Books That Slay" [3]: https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/sierra-greer/annie-bot/?utm_source=chatgpt.com "ANNIE BOT - Kirkus Reviews" [4]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alien_Clay?utm_source=chatgpt.com "Alien Clay" [5]: https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/adrian-tchaikovsky/alien-clay/?utm_source=chatgpt.com "ALIEN CLAY - Kirkus Reviews" [6]: https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250290304/servicemodel/?utm_source=chatgpt.com "Service Model - Macmillan" [7]: https://www.bookreporter.com/reviews/service-model?utm_source=chatgpt.com "Service Model | Bookreporter.com" [8]: https://nypost.com/2024/12/31/shopping/shop-the-goodreads-choice-awards-2024-winners-top-books/?utm_source=chatgpt.com "Shop the 14 winners of the Goodreads Choice Awards 2024: Top books" [9]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dissolution_%28Binge_novel%29?utm_source=chatgpt.com "Dissolution (Binge novel)"